Falcons: Owner draws a Blank

ATLANTA - The Atlanta Falcons wanted to suspend Michael Vick. And considering the appalling allegations against their star quarterback, they may not want him back at all.

Under an edict from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, Vick is barred from taking part in training camp while the league investigates a federal dogfighting indictment against one of its most prominent players.

The Falcons revealed Tuesday they wanted to give Vick a four-game suspension - the maximum a team can impose - until Goodell asked them to hold off. He wants to take a further look at the charges issued last week and can dole out stiffer penalties under a new personal conduct policy.

"This sort of behavior is really horrific," Falcons owner Arthur Blank said in the team's first public comment since Vick was indicted. "This is certainly not the player or the person that I knew the last six years."

The Falcons said they considered all options - releasing Vick among them - and seemed to signal he will miss at least a fourth of the season even if Goodell doesn't impose his own sanctions.

Most tellingly, Blank said he would encourage Vick to give up any thoughts of playing while the case is pending - even if it means sitting out the entire season. He is scheduled to be arraigned in Richmond, Va., on Thursday, the same day the Falcons open training camp.

"This is not about playing football in 2007," said Blank, joined at a news conference by general manager Rich McKay and new coach Bobby Petrino. "This is a very difficult process he'll be going through over the next couple of months. It's very difficult to do that and focus on football at the same time."

Goodell weighed in on Vick's case during a news conference with NFL Players Association chief Gene Upshaw in Washington, where the two discussed an alliance to help former players.

"Let me make it very clear that the National Football League is very disappointed that Michael put himself in this position," Goodell said. "In no way do we think that dogfighting or anything related to dogfighting is acceptable. We think it's despicable, frankly."

As for why he blocked an immediate suspension against Vick, Goodell said the league needed more time to investigate.

"We're looking at this from the long term," he said. "We understand how our fans are reacting to this. It is very emotional for all of us. But we have to remember that we are still at a state where these are charges. These are allegations."

Under the league's collective bargaining agreement, a team can impose a four-game suspension for detrimental conduct. The league's new conduct policy allows Goodell to hand down harsher penalties.

"Prior to this, we were pursuing the maximum discipline, which is a four-game suspension," Blank said. "We had gone so far as to draft the letter. But the commissioner asked us not to take action until they completed their review."

Clearly, the Falcons did not want to begin training camp with a quarterback who was under federal indictment, even though he led them to the NFC championship game during the 2004 season and last year became the first quarterback in league history to rush for 1,000 yards.

"There is certainly a reasonable potential that he's going to miss part - a significant part - of the regular season," Blank said.

In April, investigators raiding a home owned by Vick in rural Virginia allegedly found evidence of dogfighting, include dozens of pit bulls, bloodstained carpeting, treadmills rigged up for training, veterinary supplies and "breaking sticks" used to pry a dog's jaw apart.

At first, Vick denied any connection to the house, saying he never lived there and rarely visited. He blamed friends and family members for taking advantage of his generosity, an explanation that he apparently gave Goodell when the two held an impromptu meeting in New York during the draft.

Since then, Vick has denied any comment on the case.

Blank said he is deeply disturbed by the allegations, making a point to say that he counted Vick's name more than 50 times in the 18-page indictment. Vick and three associates are accused of killing dogs if they weren't strong enough to fight, with gruesome methods that included hanging, drowning, shooting and electrocution.

"There was no indication, no signs, no whispers that Michael could be involved in any of this kind of behavior," McKay said.

In 2004, the Falcons signed Vick to the richest contract in NFL history at the time, a 10-year extension worth approximately $130 million. At the time, Blank said the deal would allow Vick to play his entire career in Atlanta.

Now, there's a distinct possibility that Vick's career with the Falcons is over, even though the team would take a debilitating salary cap hit over the next two years if he's released.

Vick's salary this season is $6 million.

PETA - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals - kept up its pressure on the Falcons, sending three people to protest outside the headquarters of Blank's foundation, where the news conference was held. One of them carried a sign, "Sack Vick."

Later, PETA issued a statement. "Because of the Falcons' willingness to suspend Vick, PETA is canceling plans to protest outside the Falcons' training camp on Thursday," it said.

Instead, PETA will demonstrate outside a NikeTown store in Atlanta on Thursday, demanding that Nike drop what PETA called its corporate partnership with Vick.

Joey Harrington goes into camp as Atlanta's starting quarterback. His career record as a starter (23-43) hardly makes him a promising alternative, especially for a team that hired Petrino specifically because it felt he could bring out Vick's full potential.

The Falcons sure could use Matt Schaub, who was Vick's backup for three years. He was dealt to the Houston Texans just before evidence of dogfighting emerged when police raided Vick's house in April.

"This is a big obstacle, there's no question about that," Petrino said.

Since the end of last season, Goodell has used the new conduct policy to suspend Adam "Pacman" Jones of the Tennessee Titans for the entire 2007 season. Chris Henry of Cincinnati and former Chicago Bear Tank Johnson were given eight-game suspensions for various run-ins with the law.

The commissioner isn't ready to impose sanctions on Vick.

Not yet anyway.

"I would like to, before any decisions are made about the futures of any player, understand the facts as best as possible," Goodell said. "I thought it was in our best interest to make sure we did do that."